The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

Engineers told about 25 local residents in Coulee Dam last Wednesday that the benefits of building a new plant versus upgrading the present wastewater treatment plant is about a push.

A completed study of many of the details of the proposed plant will come later, but engineer Kurt Holland of Varella & Associates, a Spokane firm, said that the study thus far shows that the present site will be the most cost effective site for the plant.

The report showed that a new plant would come in at about $5.270 million, while a remodel would be about $4.7 million.

The timeline of any project would be 2016 for design and the project would be constructed in 2017.

However, there are a lot of “ifs” still pending on the project.

What is Elmer City going to do? Elmer City is undergoing an alternative analysis study of its own and several council members there have indicated that they would like to build their own plant.

Elmer City currently sends its wastewater through the Coulee Dam plant, making up to a quarter of its volume and sharing in the cost of the plant.

If Elmer City pulls out of its current relationship with Coulee Dam, that would make sewer service about $10 a month more expensive for Coulee Dam residents.

Holland estimated that a finished plant would put local residents’ monthly sewer bill somewhere in the neighborhood of $55-$61 a month, with Elmer City continuing to use the plant.

Mayor Greg Wilder has scheduled meetings so local residents can follow the process the town is taking in coming to a decision.

Funding is another if, and that is a question that will determine all of the other aspects of the proposed project.

The target date for design is tentatively set for October, 2016.